


Marshmellow Mornings (And Macaroon Afternoons)

by Tyranno



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-03
Updated: 2015-06-03
Packaged: 2018-04-02 17:39:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,280
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4068727
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tyranno/pseuds/Tyranno
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Domestic scenes in the achingly domestic life of a widower ex-hokage, a Jounin and their son.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Marshmellow Mornings (And Macaroon Afternoons)

“Minato-sensei!”

 

Minato’s eyes made an effort to open, and he winced at the brightness of the room. His eyes felt gritty and he felt... heavy. Leaden, muscles locked against him. With a huff of effort, he turned his head and focussed his eyes on the doorway. It took more effort than he liked. “Kakashi.”

 

Kakashi wavered at the doorway, half a step inside. He glanced around and looked back at his sensei, hesitant. He looked small—and Minato realised then just how small the boy was. He was a Chunin, but he was young, small, and fragile; Barely thirteen, too soon to be an adult.

 

Minato jerked his head, prompting him to enter. He still looked wary, footsteps light and careful. Kakashi stopped, halfway to his bedside, glanced at the door, and dashed over to his sensei; crushing him in the shortest and tightest hug Minato had ever been given. Minato spluttered in surprise, and Kakashi was already a few paces away.

 

“Sorry, sensei,” Kakashi said, rather sheepishly, eyes fixed on the floor. Relief stopped him from feeling too bad, after all, Minato was _here_ , alive and solid. “They—they said you’d died.”

 

“Oh.” Minato gingerly touched his ribs with his good arm. “I’m, I’m fine.”

 

Kakashi glanced at him, and something in him wanted to point out Minato was the exact opposite of ‘fine’. He was covered with bandages, and as fresh as they were places already had blood seeping through. His right arm was... “Your right arm?”

 

“Gone.” Minato sighed. He opened his mouth, baiting his breath, before he finally spoke in a weak, quiet voice. “Kushina, is she...?”

 

“Kushina, she’s...” Kakashi glanced at his teacher, wary and sad. He didn’t want to tell him something like that, not when he was like this. “I don’t know.” He lied, softly. “I went straight here to check you were ok.”

 

“I see,” Minato smiled a little sadly. He closed his eyes, but pulled them apart a moment later, wide with fear. “Naruto—is he okay?”

 

“Naruto’s fine,” Kakashi assured him quickly. “I, I saw him on my way here. Yelling really super loud, but perfectly healthy as far as I saw.”

 

Minato laughed, “Got good lungs on him, got that from his mother.”

 

Kakashi smiled, and the tension eased from his shoulders, only a little. When Minato really got Kushina in a mood you could hear it right across Konoha, every word. “Hey, sensei, are you... are you going to be okay?” It felt wrong to ask it, but it dwindled at the back of his mind like a shadow.

 

Minato was silent for a little. His knee-jerk response was to assure him everything was going to be okay... but Kakashi had been through so much. He deserved a proper, true and real answer. He looked Kakashi in the eyes, and finally, finally, he smiled at him. “I think so.”

 

 

*

 

 

Anyone who knew the first thing about Uzumaki Naruto (well, maybe the second thing they knew about him) was that he had two dads, two dangerous dads; a Jonin and an ex-Hokage. Well, a father and a legal guardian, but that was hardly gossip-worthy material.

 

Minato leant on his crutches, testing his bad leg, watching his child and his old student make an utter fool of themselves in the name of kick-the-can. He stretched his aching bones that seemed to have something against him, wriggling his toes as best his could. It was numb, damaged from the Kyuubi chakra, and slow to respond, but relatively usable. Most days.

 

He swung forward on his crutches, ungraceful and awkward, moving towards the equally undignified pair of scallywags who laughed loud enough to deafen anyone in a ten-mile-radius. Naruto was good for Kakashi. He hadn’t really grown out of the silent, ominous and emotionless Kakashi of the Sharingan, but he smiled more, genuinely and less of an afterthought.

 

Although, Minato reasoned, as he finally reached the pair, Naruto would be good for everyone, if only they let him. The little rascal was kind and clever and cute enough to be an excellent friend.

 

“Dad!” Naruto said brightly, as if it was an utter shocking surprise. “Papa is no good!”

 

“Papa, eh?” Minato cast a sideways glance at Kakashi.

 

“Maa, he won’t stop call me that.” Kakashi said, shifting to the side. “It’s better than ‘Kaka’.” Minato smiled.

 

“So Papa’s bad at kick-the-can,” Minato considered this, “Can you be bad at kick the can?”

 

“Yes!” Naruto said firmly. “Can we have ramen?!”

 

“Ah, okay,” Minato said, leading Naruto with his artificial arm, leaving his good one to hop him along. “Hmm, I don’t know if we can, were you good today?”

 

“Yes!” Naruto said, deeply offended.

 

“Did you prank anyone?” Minato raised an accusing eyebrow at his son.

 

“Only a little!”

 

“Only a little?” Minato said hesitantly, glanced at Kakashi for his view.

 

Naruto nodded violently.

 

“Why not?” Kakashi said, shrugging. “Only a little, that’s not so bad, their fault for getting caught, if it’s only a little.”

 

“Yes!” Naruto punched the air with his free hand.

 

Minato shot Kakashi a long-suffering look behind Naruto’s back. _You are a bad influence._

 

Kakashi grinned wickedly. “Hey, Naruto, race you to Ichiraku’s. Last one there has to pay!” Naruto gasped and turned heel, charging down the path like a freight-train, closely followed by Kakashi.

 

“Wha—Hey guys this is— _I CAN’T RUN_!” Minato shouted after them, betrayal stinging his heart as he swing-hopped forward.

 

 

*

 

 

“D-dad?”

 

“Come in,” Minato rubbed grease into the metal join of his shoulder. He paused to lift the artificial arm. “I’m _unarmed_.”

 

Naruto stood in the doorway, the hallway light made his hair glow white; his eyes shone almost an inhuman blue.

 

Naruto took a step in, hanging onto the door gently. He hesitated, frowning a little. He swallowed, and then said, all in a rush; “Who’s my mother?”

 

Minato watched him, tilting his head. He smiled, tiredly. “She was the most beautiful, brightest women I have ever met. She was a lot like you.”

 

Naruto took another step, robotically. He rested a hand on the bookshelf. “Really? Where is she? Can I meet her?”

 

Minato’s smile grew sadder. “She’s no longer with us.”

 

“Yeah, I know, but where is she? Can we go there?” Naruto pestered, face lighting up despite himself.

 

Minato’s eyes dropped to the floor. He was silent. It was a real effort to speak, forcing words out. “She’s dead.”

 

“Oh.” Naruto said. He sounded so heartbroken, it stung deep in Minato’s chest. With a thump, Naruto sat down, a look of hard-set determination sprung on his face. “Tell me about her,” he ordered.

 

Minato blinked at him. He cleared his throat, and swallowed. “Um. Well. She was the bright—”

 

“Did she like ramen? What did she think of Papa? Could she do the clone jutsu?” Naruto shot off in quick succession, “What was her favourite book? Did she like her ramen with or without seaweed?”

 

Minato raised his eyebrow. And then he grinned. “Well.”

 

Kakashi returned, weary, to a house buzzing with laughter and his heart feels lighter.

 

 

*

 

 

Minato sighs deeply, face pressed into the pillows and a bright eye fixed on the mop-head beside him.

 

He felt old. So incredibly old, stretched thin between his ruined limbs and broken heart. Just looking made his eyes feel tired.

 

He lifted an arm and rested it around Kakashi’s middle.

 

“I’m sorry.” Minato said, quietly

 

Kakashi raises a pearly brow, fixing him with an odd look. “For what?”

 

“I love you.” Minato whispered, brushing inaudibility.

 

Kakashi shuffled, looping an arm around Minato’s shoulders. He pulled him closer, pressing their foreheads together.

 

“There’s no reason to be sorry for that.”


End file.
